Analysis of AD Carry Itemization

In most League of Legends (LoL) games, an Attack Damage (AD) carry won’t get passed building three or four core items. With this being said, it is important to know how to optimise your itemisation according to your champion’s kit.

Bloodthirster first champions:This means their kits scale well off of the AD Bloodthirster provides. Caitlyn, Draven, Ezreal, Graves, Miss Fortune, Sivir, Varus and Vayne are champions that should get Bloodthirster as quickly as possible.

Infinity’s Edge / Blade of the Ruined King first champions:These champions basically have either no or very little AD scaling, and are strong because of more inherent parts of their kits such as range. Ashe, Kog’Maw, Tristana and Twitch are examples of these types of champions.

Phantom Dancer second champions:A champion would prefer having Phantom Dancer only if they have an auto attack modifier, or an enhanced auto attack. Caitlyn, Draven, Sivir, Twitch and Vayne each have this trait.

Static Shiv second champions:Static Shiv is an item that helps carries who don’t scale well with AD, by providing damage that scales with attack speed. Ashe, Ezreal, Graves, Kog'Maw, Miss Fortune, Tristana, Twitch and Varus are examples of these champions.

AD carries that don’t follow the rules:These champions can still be built according to the core items but the cost-effectiveness of these builds might be lessened.

Ezreal can build just about any AD item and get away with it.

Corki has mediocre AD scaling, has no inherent attack speed, his passive does not scale off of critical strikes, and his spells all deal magic damage.

Quinn’s kit has a high number of skills that scale with AD, but the scaling itself is so poor that she can't get away with purchasing Bloodthirster first and has to go for Blade of the Ruined King or Infinity’s Edge. Even though her passive counts as an auto attack modifier, her kit has so much mobility that Static Shiv is a better option than Phantom Dancer.

Quick builds for champions:These quick builds show which major items to go for in the order that works for each champion.

Caitlyn: Bloodthirster, Phantom Dancer, Last Whisper, Infinity’s Edge. Infinity’s Edge first is normally the better option but it’s all down to what is happening in-game.

Corki: Bloodthirster, Trinity Force, Infinity’s Edge, Last Whisper. This champion could also be interesting with Muramana, Iceborn Gauntlet, or Blade of the Ruined King.

Draven: Bloodthirster, Phantom Dancer, Last Whisper, Infinity’s Edge.

Ezreal: Bloodthirster, Static Shiv, Last Whisper, Infinity’s Edge. His kit lends himself to some interesting variations of itemisation; such as Muramana, Iceborn Gauntlet and Balde of the Ruined King.

Graves: Bloodthirster, Static Shiv, Last Whisper, Infinity’s Edge.

Kog’Maw: Blade of the Ruined King, Static Shiv, Infinity’s Edge, Last Whisper. Note that Last Whisper is last and the two on-hit items are first. Kog’Maw's “W” allows him to itemize for more attack speed oriented items first, but Blade of the Ruined King also gives him an additional slow, which helps with his weakness of not having an escape.

Miss Fortune: Bloodthirster, Static Shiv, Last Whisper, Infinity’s Edge. Miss Fortune is also a champion that can build Black Cleaver; this gives her “R” armour penetration.

Quinn: Blade of the Ruined King, Static Shiv, Infinity’s Edge, Last Whisper. Note that Last Whisper would be purchased fourth as a result of her kit weakness and a longer build-up time on damage.

Sivir: Bloodthirster, Static Shiv, Last Whisper, Infinity’s Edge.

Tristana: Blade of the Ruined King, Infinity’s Edge, Static Shiv, Last Whisper. Blade of the Ruined King first is ideal, but the last two items should be purchased according to the enemy's items. Higher armour would warrant Last Whisper as the third item.

Twitch: Blade of the Ruined King, Infinity’s Edge, Last Whisper, Static Shiv or Phantom Dancer. You can have either of the last two items as they both stack well with his kit.

Varus: Bloodthirster, Static Shiv, Last Whisper, Infinity’s Edge. Varus can also build Blade of the Ruined King, because of the percentage damage on-hit from his “W”. The percentage of current health damage from Blade of the Ruined King, drops the enemy low, while the percentage of total damage from his “W” will be enough to kill them.

Vayne: Bloodthirster, Phantom Dancer, Last Whisper, Infinity’s Edge. Vayne’s “W” is similar to that of Varus, so rushing Blade of the Ruined King is a good option for her as well.